question about the processors!

[creed_mty]

Hello everyone i have a very general question regarding about comparing the Centrino Duo and AMD turion 64 processors. before anything ahead excuse my ignorance about this!

So, I went to best buy and i was looking the machines and the guy in there gave me an explanation which machines can be upgradable to Windows Vista you know at first the memory and bla bla bla, BUT when he talked about the processor he said the centrino duo will have limitations in software because is 32 bit processor and the AMD turion is 64 bit so it will handle 32 and 64 bit SO, IS THAT REALLY TRUE? or it was a way to convince me to buy a laptop w/ AMD or THE OTHER HAND the Centrino Duo it will also perform the same function as the AMD thank's to it's DUAL PROCESSOR and AMD IS NOT??

ANY ANSWERS I'LL APPRECIATE!! THANK'S!!

[kulivontot]

64 bit really isn't that big of a deal. Except for certain tasks that make use of massive 64-bit calculations, the speed improvements aren't really that noticable. However, the difference between dual core and single core IS very noticable. Having two separate cores allows much more efficient multi-tasking and much better performance for applications written with multi-threading. The most applicable user example is that you can run a virus scan or defrag simultaneously while performing other normal tasks without experience a heavy slow-down like you would with a single-core processor. What you should be comparing now is laptops with the new AMD Turion X2 Mobile chip and Intel Core Duo, as that is AMD's answer to core duo. I have not seen any benchmarks from AMD vs. Intel yet, but my prediction is that Core Duo will most likely be more power efficient than Turion X2 due to it's 65 nm process rather than AMD's 90 nm process. I could be wrong however and have no actual benchmarks to show either way. Also, take note that Intel will be launching "Merom" in the next few months which will be there next iteration of the core duo processor which will include 64 bit processing support, so if you are thinking about buying a new laptop, you may want to wait a few months if you want the latest and greatest technology.

[kwramm]

also to take advantage of any speed increase 64 bit computing may give you, you have to run 64 bit software. You have to get Windows XP 64 bit edition and of course you have to get 64 bit software. Unfortunately there is not much out there. The same goes for 64 bit device drivers. Running 32 bit software on a 64 bit system doesn't give you any significant speed increase.

64 bit computing may become mainstream once Vista 64 bit edition is out (my guesstimate: 2 years from now) and programs ranging from ms office to macromedia flash, games and most drivers are ported to 64 bit. Before that I see little reason to much care about it unless you run linux or specialty applications such as 3D or math programs that are available as 64 bit versions.

[kulivontot]

Also forgot one more 64 bit advantage:
With 64 bit processors you can use more than 4 GB of system memory. But with things as they are I don't think it's even possible to get more than 4GB in a laptop right now as 2GB SODIMMs are the largest commercially available I believe. Let alone the fact that it's not really conceivable for a single user to require more than 4GB of memory at any given time. Although I'm sure there's someone out there who would love to prove me wrong.

[christopher_wolf]

Also forgot one more 64 bit advantage:
With 64 bit processors you can use more than 4 GB of system memory. But with things as they are I don't think it's even possible to get more than 4GB in a laptop right now as 2GB SODIMMs are the largest commercially available I believe. Let alone the fact that it's not really conceivable for a single user to require more than 4GB of memory at any given time. Although I'm sure there's someone out there who would love to prove me wrong.

A single user? More like a bunch of software developers that decide to help themselves to your system without regard for bloat and resource footprint size. I am pretty sure that someone out there will manage to put together a bunch of software that manages to still suck up enough memory to warrant 4GB as a viable option for laptops.

[archer6]

I am pretty sure that someone out there will manage to put together a bunch of software that manages to still suck up enough memory to warrant 4GB as a viable option for laptops.

Ah yes.... 4GB by 2007

and before we know it 8GB by 2009

[creed_mty]

I think that for now after reading your replies i consider much more the dual core because there's just a few varieties of 64 bit programs i think so for nowadays we need a computer that does multitasking like the dual core and the turion64 is only good for the future programs and requeries the 64 bit OS. so for me i consider dual core !!! I see now why the thinkpdas use dual core processors on their laptops. =)

thank's all of you!!!